Retrospective analysis of feline intestinal parasites: trends in testing positivity by age, USA geographical region and reason for veterinary visit.
Parasit Vectors
; 13(1): 473, 2020 Sep 15.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32933564
BACKGROUND: The goals of this retrospective study were to estimate parasite positivity in samples from cats using zinc sulfate fecal flotation by centrifugation ("centrifugation") and coproantigen and examine trends with age, geographical region and reason for visit to veterinarian. Common methods of parasite detection, such as centrifugal flotation, passive flotation, or direct smear, may underrepresent the true prevalence of intestinal parasites in cats. Coproantigen testing detects more positive samples than traditional methods alone. METHODS: Feline fecal test results from the continental USA containing results for fecal exams performed using centrifugation paired with coproantigen results for ascarid, hookworm, whipworm and Giardia were obtained from the database of a national commercial reference laboratory comprised of multiple regional sites. RESULTS: Parasite positivity was highest in samples from young cats and decreased with cat age. The western region of the USA had lower total parasite positivity than other regions for all parasites except Giardia. Cats receiving fecal tests during veterinary wellness visits had only slightly lower parasite positivity than samples from cats during sick clinical visits. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a larger population of cats are at increased risk of parasitism than commonly believed and coproantigen testing produces more positive test results for the four parasites that antigen can detect than centrifugation of feline fecal samples.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Parasites
/
Cat Diseases
/
Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Animals
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
Parasit Vectors
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States
Country of publication:
United kingdom